NBA All-Star loves Adobo and the Philippines

DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors is well-versed in Filipino culture, having twice visited the Philippines, loves adobo and is married to Filipino-American in Kiara Morrison.

The NBA All-Star revealed his favorite Filipino food and reminisced on his previous visits to Manila during an interview with ABS-CBN News on the eve of the All-Star game in Los Angeles, California.

The last visit of DeRozan was in in July 2014, when he represented the NBA in a basketball clinic with NBA Cares. Kiara went to the Philippines with DeRozan. and she said that it was the first time she’d ever been to the country.

“It’s great to be back here for the first time, to experience the culture with DeMar,” Morrison said in 2014. “DeMar eats a lot of adobo! But for some reason he prefers my mom’s better than mine!”

DeRozan and Morrison have two young daughters. His older daughter is named Diar, who was born in 2013. Their younger daughter, Mari, was born in 2016, a week after the Rio Olympics.

Basketball is in Morrison’s blood. Her father, Keith Morrison, played in the Philippine Basketball Association in the Alaska team’s inaugural season in 1986, helping the team reach the quarterfinals in the All-Filipino Conference and Open Conference. Before playing in the Philippines, Keith Morrison attended Washington State.